"They came in here last year and beat us," said Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, whose team lost on its home court 68-63 to Gonzaga on Nov. 18, 2016. "So we know that we have our hands full."

That game will follow another opening-round matchup between No. 5 Missouri (24-7) and No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast (30-4) at 12:30 p.m.

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If the Cardinal defeats the West Coast Conference outright champion on Saturday, it will face the winner of the matinee for a chance to reach the Sweet 16 on Monday at a yet-to-be-determined time.

"It’s crazy thinking we were just sitting in the locker room and that’s the last bid that we’re watching that we’re going to play in," said Stanford forward Kaylee Johnson, one of two seniors on the roster along with guard Brittany McPhee. "But we’re thrilled to be in the tournament, thrilled to be hosting. No one wants to stop playing their home court, so getting another opportunity to play in Maples is incredible."

The Cardinal, which is making its 31st consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, did not show up on the original list for host sites.

In fact, it fell out of the AP Top 25 poll in mid-December for the first time since 2001 after going 6-6 against nonconference opponents.

"Early on, it really challenged our team," VanDerveer said. "And instead of breaking us, it made us stronger, more resilient, more determined. People had to get tougher."

Stanford bounced back to finish as the Pac-12 runner-up in both the regular-season standings and conference tournament.

The return of McPhee, who missed nine games prior to Pac-12 play with a foot injury, certainly helped. The All-Pac-12 selection is averaging career highs in points (17.0), rebounds (5.0), assists (2.4) and steals (1.2).

"Honestly, tournament time, it’s the seniors," VanDerveer said. "Those two seniors will lead the way. Obviously our freshmen and other underclassmen will need to contribute, but we’re in really good hands with our leadership with those two."

What piece of advice does Johnson, set to play in her fourth NCAA Tournament in as many years, have for the freshmen in their debut appearance?

"I mean, you can tell them — just like I was told — but you’ll never really know until you experience it," Johnson said. "But, just try to explain that tournament time is just a different atmosphere, and we did get a taste of that when we did go to the Pac-12 Tournament. …

"It doesn’t matter who you’re playing, what the seeding is, where you are. It’s going to matter when you step on that court, who’s going to be ready to battle, who’s going to be willing to get it done?"

Prior to the selection show, Stanford took the court for an hour-long shooting session after taking a couple of days off.

By the time Saturday arrives, a gap of nearly two weeks will exist since the Cardinal last played on March 4 in the Pac-12 championship game, a 77-57 loss to No. 6 Oregon.

"We worked hard this past week," VanDerveer said. "We played against guys, we’ve had tough practices and we’re working on specific things. I think sometimes when you don’t win the tournament, it really points you in directions of things to work on, whether it was our defense or attacking a 3-2 zone."

Elsewhere, top-ranked UConn (32-0) is the overall No. 1 seed.

Cal (21-10) earned a No. 7 seed in the Albany Region and will face No. 10 Virginia (18-13) and its former coach Joanne Boyle on Friday at 2 p.m. PT in Columbia, South Carolina.

Other Pac-12 teams in the tournament include:

• Oregon (30-4), seeded second in the Spokane Region;

• UCLA (24-7) and Arizona State (22-12), third and seventh seeds, respectively, in the Kansas City Region;